Originally from : "Budi Lewiyanto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Originally dated: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 19:30:54 +0700
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<e-Software>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~Forum Diskusi Software dan Internet untuk Kristen-Katholik~~~~~~~
Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow.
Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them. And besides he didn't own any.
The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them. They did a poor job of
keeping out the cold.
Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour. Try as he might, he could
not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head
as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't
have any money to spend."
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five
had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try. There just
never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small
wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.
What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up
for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older sisters and one younger
one. They ran the household in their mother's absence. All three of his
sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother.
Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had
nothing.
Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down
to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six
without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.
Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window.
Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get
dark, and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home. Then suddenly his eyes
caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something
along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never has
anyone felt so wealthy as did Bobby at that moment.
As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire
body, and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly
turned cold when salesperson after salesperson told him that he couldn't buy
anything with only a dime.
He went inside a flower shop. When the owner asked if he could help him,
Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his
mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent
offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You
just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."
As Bobby waited, he looked around the shop. Even though he was a boy, he
could see why mothers and girls liked flowers. The sound of the door closing
as the last customer left, jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the
shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.
The shop owner returned holding an arrangement of twelve long-stem red roses
all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner
picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.
"That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his
hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime.
Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have
some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"
This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into
his hands, he knew it was true.
Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop
keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."
As he returned inside, the shop keeper' wife walked out. "Who were you
talking to back there, and where are the roses you were fixing?"
Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he
replied,
A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was getting ready to
open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of
my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had
lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway.
Then just a few minutes ago a little boy came into the shop and wanted to
buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.
When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago when I didn't have any
money with which to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I
never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me
ten dollars.
When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put
together a dozen of my very best roses.
The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped
out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL
Budi L
I-KAN %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% e-Software
Permulaan hikmat adalah takut akan TUHAN! Mazmur 111:10a / Amsal 9:10a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
WEB---> http://hub.xc.org/scripts/lyris.pl?enter=i-kan-software
SUBSCRIBE---> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Isi/Body: kosong
UNSUBSCRIBE---> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Isi/Body: kosong
Ayo. Mampir di Muara Informasi Kristen [MIK] http://www.sabda.org
